Ohio based blog dedicated to Political Newsletters, sports rants, local news (Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus), national updates, and whatever else may relate to community action. We support blogging, free enterprise, and all viewpoints.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Demetrius "Van" Crocker and Josa Padilla-- Tow men accused of suspected terrorist attempts, one accused and one tortured to the point of insanity. Yet, in terms of news coverage, most of America probably couldn't tell you anything about them. Hell, I wouldn't know about them if it wasn't for www.digg.com.

This article is an eye opener in many ways, and it begs the question, is our local television broadcast news worth the effort? No, then can we please change it?

Friday, December 15, 2006

In an effort to spark discussion, as I'm sure it will, I am posting the following which I received from the Ohio Democratic Party:"Under pressure from New Jersey's highest court to offer marriage or its equivalent to gay couples, the Legislature voted Thursday to make New Jersey thethird state to allow civil unions. Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine said he would sign the measure, which would extend to same-sex couples all the rights andprivileges available under state law to married people. The bill passed the Assembly 56-19 and the Senate 23-12.

Massachusetts is the only state to allow gay marriage. Vermont and Connecticut have civil unions, and California has domestic partnerships that work similarly.

Among the benefits gay couples would get under New Jersey's civil unions bill are adoption rights, hospital visitation rights and inheritance rights.

Gay rights advocates welcomed the bill as a step forward but said they would continue to push for the right to marry.

The bill was drafted in response to a landmark New Jersey Supreme Court ruling in October that required the state to extend the rights and benefits of marriageto gay couples within 180 days. The court, in its 4-3 ruling, left it up to the Legislature to decide whether to call such unions ''marriages'' or somethingelse.

Gay rights groups have argued that not calling the arrangement ''marriage'' creates a different, and inferior, institution. Some conservatives argued againstcivil unions altogether, and Republican Sen. Robert Singer said Thursday he wanted to add a provision to the bill defining marriage as a union betweena man and a woman.

Citing recent state polls showing strong support for marriage equality, Steven Goldstein, director of the gay rights advocacy organization Garden StateEquality, said he expects gay couples to be able to get married in New Jersey within two years. (AP)"

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Researchers across the political spectrum, including 52 Nobel laureates, have signed a statement objecting to the Bush administration's censorship and misrepresentation of scientific data.

This article is a very important read for people. Partisan politics is bullshit. We need to work together scientists, ministers, teachers, politicians, students, and anyone else to make our country and citizen responsive to the need of all people. We need to wake up and realize that some people lie and distort findings in order to keep power or push their own personal agenda. Untill the masses wake up and work together, nothing will change.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

The following was taken from the ODP Daily Talking Points from December 11, 2006.

Bush’s Failed Iraq Policies And The Iraq Study Group

According to the final report from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, President Bush’s current strategy in Iraq is “not working” and the situation in the country is “grave and deteriorating.” At the same time, the latest AP-Ipsos poll found that that only 27 percent of Americans approve of President Bush’s handling of Iraq, “down from his previous low of 31 percent in November.” [AP, 12/8/06] It is clear that the American people want a new direction in Iraq, yet President Bush has already “moved quickly to distance himself … from the central recommendations” of the study group. [New York Times, 12/8/06] Editorial boards across the country highlighted the importance of the commission’s report to addressing President Bush’s failed policy in Iraq.

Los Angeles Times: Bush’s Performance “Depressing.” “If the Iraq Study Group is worried that its recommendations will not be taken seriously, then Thursday's news conference with President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair is cause for concern. … Semantics aside, Bush's performance Thursday was depressing. He turned truculent when pressed to describe the situation on the ground (“It's bad in Iraq. Does that help?”) and was irritatingly simplistic explaining his rationale for staying there (“I wouldn’t have our troops in harm's way if I didn't believe that, one, it was important, and, two, we'll succeed”). His opening remarks included the usual airy rhetoric about creating a beacon of democracy in the Middle East and ominous yet vague references to ‘the forces of terror and extremism.’ For minutes at a time, the conference sounded like it could have been taking place in 2003. … Bush is right: The U.S. needs to confront terrorists, and democracy is a worthy goal. But declaring a goal is separate from achieving it. No one will argue that these goals aren't important (that word again). Yet they will remain unattainable until a host of other issues, many of them outlined by the Iraq Study Group, are addressed. Maybe Bush realizes this but can't bring himself to say so publicly. Or maybe he just doesn't believe it. After Thursday's news conference, it's still hard to tell.” [Los Angeles Times, Editorial, 12/8/06]

Los Angeles Times: Bush Administration Must Not Abandon Commission’s Suggestion Of Diplomacy. “If there was an important message lost in the rollout of the Iraq Study Group’s report on Wednesday, it was this: New diplomatic initiatives, even at this 11th hour, are essential not just for ending the Iraq war but also to put the United States in the optimum position after it is over. … Should Iraq's shaky government fail, the United States' ability to control the country's violent disintegration militarily will be minimal. The Bush administration — stubbornly fixated on an improbable victory — is poorly positioned to cope with this, much less to restore a U.S. leadership role so badly undercut by differences over Iraq. Diplomacy is the only alternative. … Critics might dismiss the group's proposals as little more than a nostalgic revival of the unworkable methods of a bygone era. But dialogue and negotiation move opponents toward agreements — in everything from labor disputes to deciding in a family who will prepare dinner. They are the foundation of centuries of diplomacy. Bush's rigidity is particularly dangerous right now as the United States searches for an exit strategy from Iraq that won't make Americans more vulnerable.” [USA Today, Editorial, 12/8/06]

Dallas Morning News: “Flawed and depressing though it is, the Iraq Study Group report has the virtue of being a shot of realism more bracing than the Kool-Aid that much of official Washington has been quaffing for some time. The report's most politically significant thrust is to recommend a withdrawal of U.S. combat troops by early 2008, barring unforeseen circumstances, and deliberate moves to force the Iraqis to take control of their own destiny. The Iraq Study Group correctly recognizes that an open-ended U.S. commitment permits the Iraqis to put off a political settlement. It also recognizes that the American people are running out of patience. Despite President Bush's recent claim that there is ‘no realism’ to talk of a graceful exit from Iraq, that's precisely what this bipartisan panel calls for. … The report is not holy writ, of course, but it does recast the Iraq debate going forward. One year ago, the National Security Council issued a report titled ‘Victory in Iraq.’ Few serious people outside the White House talk that way anymore. Now, as the Iraq Study Group report makes clear, the mission is all about how to get out of Iraq as soon as is feasible and leave the country reasonably stable. This is progress, in that it is better to deal with the world as we find it than as we wish it to be. It's imperative that President Bush get this message.” [Dallas Morning News, Editorial, 12/7/06]

Denver Post: President Bush Needs To “Consider All Options Before Iraq Slides Into Irreversible Chaos.” “The Iraq war report unveiled Wednesday by a bipartisan commission was a bleak rebuke of President Bush's policies and a sobering, high-profile reminder of the challenges the U.S. faces. The Iraq Study Group's report called the situation in Iraq "grave and deteriorating" and predicted severe consequences unless the U.S. military refocuses its mission and aggressive regional diplomatic efforts are undertaken. Of course, the widely anticipated report could not answer one key question: Will a stubborn president heed recommendations that contradict his entrenched Iraq policies? … The situation in Iraq is deteriorating daily - 10 U.S. troops were killed on Wednesday alone - and the nation is in urgent need of new policies and plans. The president needs to thoughtfully but expeditiously consider all options before Iraq slides into irreversible chaos.” [Denver Post, Editorial, 12/7/06]

Baltimore Sun: “Iraq Has Been A Disastrous Blunder”; President Bush Must “Endorse The Report’s Conclusions.” “Members of Congress are calling on the president to endorse the report's conclusions, as he should. If he doesn't, it will call into question his ability to be an effective commander-in-chief. But no one should imagine that the U.S. can extricate itself from Iraq without causing a considerable amount of pain, both theoretical and actual, and opening the way to a distressing escalation of bloodshed, possibly involving other countries. Intelligent policies can help to keep those negatives within bounds; clearly, delay for the sake of delay is pointless. The report of the Iraq Study Group makes for sad reading. The painfully obvious implication is that the war in Iraq has been a disastrous blunder in just about every way imaginable. And the consequences are still mounting.” [Baltimore Sun, Editorial, 12/7/06]

From the DCCC:We wanted to let you know that Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, soon to be America's first woman Speaker of the House, will appear on Barbara Walters' ABC special, "The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2006."

The special will air tonight, Tuesday, December 12, at 10 p.m. Eastern Time. Check your local listings for exact times and station details in your area. The special will also announce the "Most Fascinating Person of 2006."

Monday, December 11, 2006

CBS News: According to a July poll conducted by Scripps News Service, one-third of Americans think the government either carried out the 9/11 attacks or intentionally allowed them to happen in order to provide a pretext for war in the Middle East. This is at once alarming and unsurprising. Alarming, because...

This is an interesting article reprinted from The Nation. I doubt that 90 million people actually believe that 9-11 was an inside job, but I am sure 90 million people are dissatisfied with the state of our Nation. Let me know if the digg.com option works. You actually have to click on the "read more" button at the bottom for the actual article.

Also let us know your thoughts on the article, conspiracy theorists, and other political mumbo jumbo.

The ironic truth is that humans have used drugs - psychoactive substances ranging from opium and coca to alcohol, hemp, tobacco and coffee - since the dawn of history. Problems get triggered when substances are associated with despised or feared subgroups, according to a careful study by the King County, Wash., Bar Association.

This is an autoblog from digg.com. I just think that there is a better way to handle drugs in our country. We have mentioned the topic before and we will revisit the issue whenever anyone speaks out about drug policy in this country and its need for revisions.

I received the following email and thought it might start some discussion on the Iraq Report. Please let us know your thoughts.

A brief update on the the final Iraq Study Group report, which was released today. The Iraq Study Group's report is important, necessary, but not sufficient to achieve the objective most Americans want: to leave Iraq without leaving chaos behind. The report's most valuable contribution is to make clear that staying the course in Iraq is not an option. Thanks to the Iraq Study Group's efforts, the central question is no longer whether to stay in Iraq, but when and how, to responsibly leave. What is missing from the report, however, is a strategy for sustaining a political settlement among Iraqis so they stand together instead of falling apart.

I plan to hold intensive and extensive hearings on Iraq to shine a light on what options remain for America in Iraq, and will send further updates when those hearings begin.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Here is a website for an online letter to be sent to your Congress and Senate representatives and the FCC. To warn them about rubber stamping the merger between AT&T and Bell South and maintain net neutrality. If you do not know the issues of net neutrality please do a little research and decide if this is really an issue that you stand behind.

The online letter is provided by "Free Press dot Net" a nonpartisan organization who works in media reform and advocacy.